“Because I need to be guarded.”
“Lina, please don’t fight us on this,” Rick said. “We only want to keep you safe. Whoever is responsible for killing Kael’s family, and maybe even Bertholde, they’re hiding something from the wolves and the dragons.”
“We don’t know which wolves.”
“True,” Jan said, “but Ain Lyall is pretty high up in their pack order. He’s going to talk to their pack Seer about bringing you to Maine. She might be able to help you with some of your powers.”
Okay, that plan she could easily get behind. “When are we going to France?”
“After we handle this here, first.”
“Okay.”
They both looked a little shocked at her immediate agreement. “Okay?” they said together.
She smiled. “Okay. I’m not going to fight you guys. You have a point.”
“Wow,” Rick said. “I think hell just froze over.”
She threw a pillow at him. “Watch it, buster. I’m still able to randomly blow stuff up.”
Before they were ready to go, Lina stopped by the kitchen for a soda and caught Zack sitting at the table, staring at the book, the two knives, the remnants of the handcuffs Lenny had used on Jan and Rick, and some of the other items Brodey had grabbed from Lenny’s tent.
She really hadn’t paid much attention to the other stuff, because between the knife and the book, she already felt overwhelmed.
“What are those things, anyway?” She pointed to the five small stone carvings. They’d been on the makeshift altar Lenny had set up in the tent.
Zack shrugged and touched one. Three inches tall, it looked like a malformed creature of some sort, a crudely shaped beast carved from reddish stone. “I have no clue. Some sort of talismans, I guess.”
She picked up the one Zack had touched and nearly dropped it again. She shuddered as she put it back on the table.
“What?” he asked.
“Blech! That thing…” She wiped her palm on her shorts, then went to wash her hands. “I don’t know what that damn thing is, but it’s, like, slimy or something.” The others were different shapes about the same size, but looked like they were carved out of the same material. No way in hell was she touching the others.
He picked it up and held it, frowning. “It feels like stone to me.” He put it back down. “Maybe it’s got some weird residual energy in it you’re sensing.”
“The only thing I’d like to sense is what it feels like crushing it under a sledgehammer.”
He smiled. “After we figure out what they are, knock yourself out. Until then, I think we need them.”
Chapter Fifteen
At least Lina had time to get her laundry done before she had to pack again. Since she didn’t know how long they’d be gone this time, she packed several weeks’ and climates’ worth of clothes.
She might not have a wolf and a soggy bear to keep her warm if she got lost in the woods again like she did back in Yellowstone.
They decided to caravan down in several cars. Lina, Rick, and Jan in her car, and both Kael and Zack following in their own vehicles. Lina sat in the backseat and took in the scenery. She didn’t feel like talking. The fact that there was someone out there capable of the despicable acts she witnessed in her vision made her sick. Even worse, that the person might have also killed Bertholde and still be out there, gunning for her as well.
Add to that the things she’d read about in the books from Bertholde, and she didn’t need convincing that the cockatrice were not a group of people she wanted to include on her Christmas card list.
It took them four hours to reach Arcadia, including a stop for a late lunch. When they pulled into the yard in front of the Lyalls’ house, Brodey, Cail, and a third man she assumed was Ain from his looks all stepped onto the porch. Brodey immediately smiled and swooped in to give her a huge hug when she got out of the car.
“There’s the Princess.”
“Goddess.”
“Whatever.” He flashed her a big smile and turned her to the third brother. “Ain, this is Lina.”
He walked over and shook hands with her. “Nice to meet you.”
She wasn’t expecting the surge of emotion she felt from him through their simple handshake. Gratitude mostly, which surprised her. Affection of a cousinly kind, even though they were strangers until this moment. Protective.
She looked into his eyes. “Thank you,” she softly said.
He appeared startled. “For what?”
“For offering to keep me safe.”
He smiled. “Hey, we protect our kin, by blood or adopted. And you and Brodey have apparently mutually adopted each other.”
Jan and Rick walked up. Fortunately, she didn’t sense any jealousy or tension from either of them. “Guys,” she said, “this is Brodey’s brother, Ain. Ain, this is Jan and Rick Alexandr.” The men all shook hands, and the next several minutes were spent unloading and schlepping luggage inside into the appropriate rooms. The old Florida ranch–style house felt warm and inviting, and looked neat and tidy despite it being occupied by three bachelors.
They cooked steaks outside on a huge, professional-looking grill. Gathered around a fire pit on their back lanai, Lina felt truly at ease for the first time since her abduction in Yellowstone. She found herself able to relax, and her men relaxing as well, knowing that, at least for now, they were all safe.
How long that would last, she didn’t know and didn’t want to think about.
“Another beer?” Cail offered.
She smiled and accepted the proffered bottle. “Thank you.” Normally, she wasn’t a big drinker, but tonight was special. Tonight, she could let everyone else take the driver’s seat and she could chill the frak out.
“Hey,” Kael said. “Do you guys know a wolf by the name of Daniel Blackestone? We called him Blackie back when we ran together in Europe. I’ve called around to my other contacts, but no one knows him or where he is.”
Ain contemplated for a moment. “Name sounds familiar. I’ll call Jocko Connelly up in Maine at the clan compound and ask him. If anyone’ll know, it’s him. Why?”
“It’s…complicated,” Zack said.
Lina tried to tune the men out as they explained to the Lyall brothers about the tablet.
“I think,” Kael said, “that if anyone can give us a lead on the tablet’s last known whereabouts, it’s Blackie. I remember when we were young, we’d gone out drinking one night in Brussels. We heard this drunk guy holding court in one corner, a bear shifter, bellowing about how no one can get the drop on them again because of some tablet. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but Blackie went real quiet. His face got all dark, like he was really pissed off. He says to me, ‘Come on, we gotta get this guy out of here. Now.’ So I follow him, he threw some money on the bar to cover the drunk’s tab, and we drag the guy out literally by the scruff of the neck.
“So we get him outside, and there’s a park one block over. Lots of trees and cover and it’s night anyway. Blackie starts muttering under his breath and dragging this guy along like he weighs nothing. The guy’s fussing and fighting and I’m just going along wondering what the fuck, but helping Blackie with him.
“When we get to the park, Blackie pulls back and slugs the shit out of the guy. Says, ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing, running your mouth like that?’ The guy said his father had told him about the tablet. He was all drunk and pissed off because some asshole had welched on a bet and now the bear couldn’t find him to get his money out of him.